IIASA Workshop at PEEX Conference

The 3rd PEEX Science Conference will bring together professional and scientific experts under research themes related to atmosphere – land ecosystems – aquatic - anthropogenic activities – Northern societies in the Northern Eurasian region. As a part of the conference program we are organizing a workshop on “Systems Analysis for the Arctic” hosted by IIASA.

The 7th PEEX Meeting is aimed to take the next steps for PEEX implementation. The PEEX vision includes establishing and maintaining long-term, coherent and coordinated research activities, observation networks and educational activities across the PEEX domain.

The complexity of the dynamic global system poses significant societal, science, policy and governance challenges for the fragile Arctic. Global-scale social, economic and technological and geopolitical changes all contribute to the transformations of the Arctic system’s climate, environment, economic development and societies. Conversely, changes in the Arctic environment impact our global climate and, in turn, affect other regions and systems across the Earth.

Systems analysis (SA) is a wide perspective and challenging concept for solving complex problems. The SA includes theory, methods, and processes for practical applications. For example, SA can include a set of interdisciplinary tools that comprise handling the interplay of environmental, technological, social, economic, and geopolitical components. SA also envisages to incorporate various stakeholders’ participation, both from public and private sectors, applied in methods and processes for balancing a variety of perspectives and for studying of options available to decision-makers. SA is useful at the interface of science and policy, and serves for reaching common understanding for actions to be taken.

The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is launching the Arctic Futures Initiative (AFI) - a new generation international 5-year research project planned and implemented in collaboration with partners and stakeholders from a variety of communities, and developed upon request by decision-makers. AFI focuses as its mission on delivering decision-support with options that balance environmental protection, economic prosperity and societal wellbeing for the rapidly changing Arctic.

The aim of the Arctic Futures Initiative is an Arctic Integrated Systems Assessment bridging science and decision-making with sound research for evidence-based plausible options for the Arctic development. The assessment is based on systems analysis, participatory methods, foresight, agent-based and integrated modeling, and science diplomacy.

In order to achieve a problem-solving approach in relation to the major global social, economic, technological and institutional transformations as reflected on the Arctic, and to induce dialogue and build trust within and among communities, the participants in AFI are not merely from science, but include representatives from policy, business and civil society. Furthermore, integrative research at the science-policy interface brings together a variety of academic disciplines, including social and natural sciences, humanities and law.

The integrative themes of the workshop cover: 1) Balancing social, economic, technological, environmental, and geopolitical developments in the Arctic for the wellbeing of the region; 2) Inter-linkages and feedbacks between the Arctic and global developments. In particular, the topics include transportation, trade, infrastructure, and resources extraction.

The aim of the workshop is to present case studies on participatory methods (invited presentation), obtain input to the concept of the Arctic Futures Initiative from special invitees and conference participants, discuss present systems analysis studies with methods applicable to the Arctic, and to discuss joint work on the Arctic within the workshop thematic framework. The Workshop is integrated to the PEEX Conference with session/s and presentations during the conference and is open to all conference participants. The outcome of the workshop includes a report and potentially a peer-reviewed scientific article.

Participants: Scientists working on the Arctic and boreal regions, systems analysis scientists, stakeholders from policy and business.

The official language of the Workshop will be English. Further information: Dr. Anni Reissell, Dr. Anastasia Emelyanova, Mr. Sergey Sizov, Ms. Katica De Pascale